After scouring the country for chamber ensembles that embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, experimentation with genre and community engagement, 21CM invites the five finalists to compete for a grand prize at the 21CMposium. Get to know them and what inspires their music.

The presenters at the 21CMposium have embarked on projects that help build the kind of musical world they want to live in. The specifics of their musical interests vary widely, but each cares for their community and shares a spirit of commitment to their creative vision.

“The first song,” Gabriel Algeria says during a set performed by his Afro-Peruvian Sextet, “was written by Jorge Gershwin.” Clever, yet telling. In many ways, fusion is now the fact of contemporary music, as well as its future.

It’s often said that music is a universal language. But language isn’t much good unless you’re using it to have a conversation. So, how do you start one? For Mike Block, the answer is to invite musicians from different countries to the same town for one week…